OFP vs HRO in Minnesota: What Is the Difference?

Reviewed by the Marketing Team · Last updated October 23, 2026

Martine Law PLLC | Updated October 23, 2026

In Minnesota, an Order for Protection (OFP) addresses domestic abuse between family or household members, while a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) addresses statutory harassment with no relationship required. An OFP can provide broader relief, including temporary custody and support after a hearing. Both are civil orders that can be issued before the respondent is heard, and violating either is a crime, but their emergency standards, hearing deadlines, sentencing rules and firearm consequences differ. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01 Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748

What is the difference between an OFP and an HRO in Minnesota?

Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01 Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748

This page compares domestic abuse OFPs under section 518B.01 with HROs under section 609.748. For the full OFP process, see what is an Order for Protection in Minnesota.

Who qualifies for an OFP or an HRO?

An OFP requires a qualifying relationship and domestic abuse. Qualifying relationships are spouses and former spouses, parents and children, blood relatives, people who live or lived together, people with a child in common, a pregnant woman and the alleged father, and people in a significant romantic or sexual relationship. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 2

An HRO requires harassment but no particular relationship. A victim, or the victim’s guardian or conservator, can petition. A parent, guardian, conservator, or stepparent can petition for a minor victim, and an emancipated minor can petition if the court finds the order is in the minor’s best interests. The respondent can be an adult, a juvenile, or an organization alleged to have sponsored or promoted harassment. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivisions 1 and 2

Some conduct between family or household members can support either order. A neighbor, coworker, or stranger with no independently qualifying relationship can be the subject of an HRO only.

What conduct supports each order?

An OFP requires domestic abuse: physical harm, bodily injury, or assault; the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault; or terroristic threats, criminal sexual conduct, sexual extortion, or interference with an emergency call. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 2

An HRO requires harassment, which includes:

• A single incident of physical or sexual assault.
• A single incident of using another person’s personal information, without consent, to invite or solicit a third party to engage in a sexual act with that person.
• A single incident of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images under section 617.261.
• Repeated intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that have, or are intended to have, a substantial adverse effect on another person’s safety, security, or privacy.
• Targeted residential picketing on more than one occasion.
• A pattern of attending public events after notice that the person’s presence is harassing.

Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 1 Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.749, subdivision 2

Can one incident support an HRO?

Yes, but only for the single-incident categories above. Otherwise the conduct must be repeated and must have, or be intended to have, a substantial adverse effect. Repeated unwanted texts or visits can qualify without any threat of violence, but repetition alone does not meet the definition. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 1

Can either order be issued without a hearing?

Yes. An ex parte OFP requires a petition alleging an immediate and present danger of domestic abuse. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 7 A temporary HRO requires the court to find reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in harassment, and a petition relying on any subdivision 1(a)(1) category, including the single-incident categories and repeated acts, must also allege an immediate and present danger of harassment. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 4

At a final HRO hearing, the court may issue the order if it finds reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in harassment and service requirements are met. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 5 At an OFP hearing, the court decides whether domestic abuse occurred. Neither is a criminal case decided beyond a reasonable doubt.

How long do you have to request a hearing?

The deadlines differ, and confusing them is costly.

• OFP. When an ex parte order is served and no hearing is scheduled, the order’s notice says no hearing will be held unless the respondent requests one within five days of service. If the petitioner sought broader relief or the court declined relief, a hearing must be held within seven days anyway, and without an ex parte order a hearing is held within 14 days. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 5 and 7
• HRO. A respondent’s request must be made within 20 days of completed service of the petition, and the hearing is scheduled when the request is received. If the petitioner requested a hearing, the respondent must be personally served at least five days before it. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivisions 3 and 4

Count from the date of service shown on the service record and file early. Missing the OFP request window does not end the right to ask the court to modify the order later. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 11 See how to fight an OFP in Minnesota and how long a harassment restraining order lasts in Minnesota.

What should you do after being served with either order?

The steps are the same for both, and the written order controls.

• Read every term. Note any no-contact, exclusion or distance provisions, and whether a hearing date is already set.
• Comply at once. Do not contact the petitioner, directly or through others, even if the petitioner reaches out first.
• Calendar the deadline. Five days for an unscheduled OFP hearing request, 20 days for an HRO.
• Use the official forms. The Judicial Branch publishes respondent packets and hearing request forms for both case types. Source: Minnesota Judicial Branch, Domestic Abuse and Harassment
• Preserve evidence such as dated messages, call logs, and witness names, and share exhibits only as the court directs.

Since August 1, 2026, an HRO petitioner can ask law enforcement to make reasonable efforts to notify the petitioner before or right after the respondent is served. Source: Laws 2026, chapter 97, article 6, section 4 Court records in both case types stay nonpublic until an order is served on the respondent. Source: Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch, Rule 4

Which order can address custody, support, or the home?

Only an OFP. After notice and a hearing, an OFP can award temporary custody and parenting time, set temporary support, award temporary use of property, exclude the respondent from a shared home and workplace, and order counseling. Some of that relief, including home exclusion and no contact, is available ex parte. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 6 and 7

The HRO statute authorizes only two forms of relief: ordering the respondent to cease or avoid harassment, and ordering no contact. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivisions 4 and 5 Parents in an HRO case address custody and parenting time in family court. See OFPs and HROs in custody and parenting time.

How long do OFPs and HROs last, and can they be changed?

An OFP lasts up to two years unless the court finds a longer period appropriate. An HRO lasts a fixed period of not more than two years. Either can run up to 50 years if the respondent violated that type of order on two or more occasions, or if this petitioner has had two or more of that type of order against the same respondent. A long OFP is limited to restraining abuse and contact. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 6 and 6a Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 5

A court can modify an OFP after notice and a hearing. For a long order of either type, the respondent may apply only after at least five years without a violation and must prove a material change in circumstances and that the original reasons no longer apply and are unlikely to recur. A denial bars another request for five years. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 11 Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 5 Permission from the petitioner never changes either order.

Are the penalties different for violating an OFP or an HRO?

The classes and maximum penalties match, but the felony grounds and sentencing rules differ. A knowing violation of either is ordinarily a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days or $1,000, or both, unless an enhancement applies.

• Gross misdemeanor. A violation within ten years of a prior qualified domestic violence-related conviction or adjudication of delinquency. Up to 364 days or $3,000, or both.
• Felony. A violation within ten years of the first of two or more such priors, or while possessing a dangerous weapon. Up to five years or $10,000, or both.

Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 14 and 18 Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivisions 6 and 8

An OFP conviction carries minimum sentences: three days and counseling at the misdemeanor level, which the court may stay; ten days that must be served at the gross misdemeanor level; and at least 30 days of incarceration as a probation condition for a stayed felony. The HRO statute has no minimum. An HRO violation is also a felony when committed because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, or national origin; by falsely impersonating another; to influence or tamper with a juror or judicial proceeding, or to retaliate against a judicial officer, prosecutor, defense attorney, or court officer for official duties; or against a victim under 18 when the respondent is more than 36 months older. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 6

Both statutes require warrantless arrest on probable cause when the officer can verify the order. The OFP statute adds that probable cause includes knowledge of the order and gives a person first served at a prohibited place a chance to leave. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 14 Because both violations are qualified domestic violence-related offenses, a qualifying prior conviction of either kind can enhance a later violation within the lookback. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.02, subdivision 16 See harassment restraining order violation in Minnesota.

Can an OFP or HRO affect firearm rights?

Yes, in different ways. An OFP must bar firearms while in effect when it restrains harassing, stalking, threatening, or conduct placing the petitioner in reasonable fear of bodily injury, and either finds a credible threat or prohibits physical force. The court orders transfer under section 518B.03 and permit surrender, and on a preponderance finding of imminent risk of substantial bodily harm, immediate law enforcement possession. Source: Laws 2026, chapter 75, sections 4 and 6 A misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor OFP violation conviction bars firearms for three years without another violation conviction, or longer up to life if a firearm was used. Source: Laws 2026, chapter 75, section 5

Section 609.748 contains no firearm ban. An HRO respondent can still lose firearm rights through a felony conviction, a gross misdemeanor stalking conviction with its three-year ban, or the federal restraining-order prohibition that state law incorporates, which can reach some orders depending on their terms and the parties. Source: Minnesota Statutes 624.713, subdivision 1 See does a restraining order affect my gun rights.

Which order fits the situation?

Work through three questions in order:

1. Is there a qualifying family or household relationship? If not, only an HRO is available.
2. What conduct occurred? Abuse, threats of imminent harm, or listed crimes point to an OFP. Repeated unwanted contact with a substantial adverse effect, or a listed single incident, points to an HRO.
3. What relief is needed? Custody, support, property or removal from a shared home require an OFP.

If a qualifying domestic abuse, family stalking, OFP violation, or DANCO violation case is pending in criminal or juvenile court, the court can also issue a Domestic Abuse No Contact Order. Source: Minnesota Statutes 629.75, subdivision 1 See DANCO lawyers and no-contact orders in Minnesota domestic violence cases. For representation, see our Orders for Protection and Harassment Restraining Orders pages.

Questions people ask

Can there be both an OFP and an HRO against the same person?

Yes. They are separate remedies, but each request must meet its own statute, so the same allegations do not guarantee two orders. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 1

Is an HRO less serious than an OFP?

No. Both are enforced by warrantless arrest and carry the same violation classes and maximums. An OFP adds minimum sentences and firearm rules, while an HRO has extra felony grounds. Source: Minnesota Statutes 609.748, subdivision 6

Does an OFP or HRO show up on a background check?

Neither is a criminal conviction, though a violation conviction is. Both case types are nonpublic before service and have no remote public access, so results depend on the search used. Source: Rules of Public Access to Records of the Judicial Branch, Rule 8

Can the protected person give permission for contact?

No. Only the court can change the order, and contact it prohibits is a violation even if the protected person invites it. Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 18

What is the difference between an OFP and a DANCO?

An OFP is a civil order the petitioner requests. A DANCO is issued against a defendant in a qualifying criminal or delinquency case, as a pretrial or probationary order. A person can be subject to both. Source: Minnesota Statutes 629.75, subdivision 1

Talk with Martine Law about an OFP or HRO

If you were served with an Order for Protection or a Harassment Restraining Order, the hearing deadline may already be running. Martine Law PLLC represents respondents at contested hearings and defends the criminal charges that follow an alleged violation. Contact Martine Law PLLC online. Phones are answered 24/7. Call 612-294-0650 to request a free consultation.

This article is general information about Minnesota law and is not legal advice for any specific situation.